Dueling Planeteer
by Captain Spider
Summary: Joey Wheeler is the Planeteer of fire. He, along with Yugi, Tristan, Tea, and the other Planeteer's go to compete in a friendly duel monster's tournament. But their is far more to the tournament the anyone suspects.
1. Ring of Fire

**This is the first chapter of my slightly altered Yu-Gi-Oh/Captain Planet crossover fic. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Captain Planet, or any of its characters. The beginning of this chapter takes place a little bit after the last season of Yu-Gi-Oh.**

**Chapter 1: Rig of Fire**

It was a dark and slightly chilly night, as 17 year old Joey Wheeler walked through the alleyways of Domino City heading for home.

"HELP, HELP!"

At the sound of the cry for help Joey stopped in his tracks. "What was that?" He rushed around the corner where he spotted a large muscular man with a chain, about to beat up a smaller, weaker man.

Joey clenched his first in anger as he glared at the large man. _'Buddy you picked the wrong day to try a mug someone.'_ he thought. He then rushed forward and high kicked the chain out of the man's hand.

The man turned around, and was surprised to find a kid standing behind him. Enraged at being disturbed by some young puck he attempted to punch Joey in the chest.

Joey easily dodged the attack then grabbed the man's wrist, and threw him to the ground.

The man pushed himself onto his hands and knees, and looked over at a smirking Joey. Realizing he was clearly out matched, he decided to cut his loses and ran out of the ally as fast as he could.

Joey smirked as watched he the guy run off. He turned to see if the attackers victim was ok, but just as he did a nearby garbage can began to glow with a bright light before bursting into flames. A small object shot out of the can, and straight into Joey's hand. Joey opened his hand to see that the object was a silver ring. In the center of the ring was a red stone with the symbol of fire on it.

Curious, and unsure what was going on, Joey slipped the ring on his finger. It began to glow with a red flame like light that transformed his normally sandy blonde hair to a vibrant bright orange.

Before he even realized what was happening, he was engulfed in a bright light. When the light faded Joey found standing on an island, surrounded by four other teenagers he had never seen before. The first three all seemed to be around the same age as him. One was an African boy with black hair, another was an Asian girl with short black hair, and the third was a Russian girl with long blond hair, whom Joey found very attractive. The last one teen however, was much younger. An Indian boy with black hair, who looked to be only twelve.

Standing in front of them was a beautiful looking woman. She had black hair, tan skin, and was dressed in purple robes that looked as though they were from ancient grease.

The other four teens were understandably confused and slightly frightened about what was happening, but Joey had seen far weirder things in his life, and simply asked. "Yo lady, you wanna explain what's going on here?"

The woman rolled her eyes but smiled. "So much for drama." she said.

-----

After the woman, whom Joey learned was called Gaia, introduced herself. She explained that she was the spirit of the earth, and that she said that had chosen Joey and the others, to help save earth from being ruined by pollution. In order to do that she gave each of them rings allowed them to control an element of nature.

The African boy, Kwame, was given the power of earth. It allowed him to manipulate the ground to create tremor and earthquakes. He could create craters, and landforms of earth, though only to a certain extent. His powers easily made him the strongest of the group.

The Indian kid, Ma-Ti, was given the power of heart. It allowed him to communicate telepathically with others, and feel and their emotions. He could also influence the feelings of others, enabling him to draw aid from creatures in the surrounding area. However his powers could only influence behavior by drawing the kindness that already exists in a being's heart. His power could also serve to protect him from external psychic manipulation.

The cute Russian girl, Linka, had the power of wind. It allowed her to create ranging from small gusts, to powerful tornadoes. Making her a force to be reckoned with. She could even use her power to fly, though doing so was very tiring, and she only did it in emergency situations.

The Asian girl, Gi, had the amazing power to telepathically control water. Anything from a small puddle to the ocean itself was hers to command. As long as it was clean enough to be affected by her ring.

Joey himself had been given the power of fire, which allowed him to crate flames, ranging from a small spark, to a blazing inferno.

After Gaia was done explaining the situation them, the group, or as Gaia called them, the Planeteers, went on their first mission. Going up against a pig faced man named Hoggish Greedly. Greedly had been destroying the coast with his giant oil drill, and Joey and the others used their new powers to stop him. They also learned that by combing there powers, they could summon Captain Planet, a being made from the elements themselves, and who had incredible, god like powers.

Hours later Joey was standing on the beach of 'Hope Island' dressed in his new Planeteer clothes, thinking over what had happened. _'Talk about weird. One minute I'm walking down some ally, the next some weird spirit is asking me to help save the world. You'd think I'd be used to this by now.'_

Joey looked at the new ring that know adorned his finger. While all of the Planter's rings were powerful, his was also the most dangerous. Fire was wild and uncontrollable. All it did was cause devastation and destruction. Joey couldn't help but wonder if Gaia had made the right call in giving a hot tempered punk like him, such a dangerous power. He sat down and stared at his reflection in the water. He had to admit, with his new clothes and new hair color he barely recognized himself. He remembered what Gaia had said when he asked about his hair.

"_Hey Gaia, how come when I put that ring on my finger it made my hair change color?" Joey asked._

_Gaia smirked a little, and answered. "I'm sorry Wheeler I suppose I should have warned you. You see the rings draws there power from the will of the person wearing it. If the person has an exceptionally strong will, it can cause changes in their physical appearance. Although I must say I'm surprised. Normally when a ring does change someone's physical appearance it simply colors the tips of their hair, or adds colored streaks. I've never meet anyone with a will so strong that it changed their entire hair color." _

_Joey thought about what Gaia said. "So does that mean if a take off the ring my hair will go back to normal?" he asked._

_Gaia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. When a person puts on a power ring the power become bonded with them. I'm afraid the change is permanent."_

Joey shrugged as he finished remembering what Gaia had told him. _'Oh well. It could be worse. At least it didn't turn my skin red. Besides Tristan always said I was a hot head.'_

The thought of Tristan caused his mind to wonder back to his friends.

Joey smirked. '_The guys are never going to believe this one.'_

**That's it for the first chapter hope you enjoyed it, sorry it was so short. **

**This story is a work in progress and I**** am always open to questions, comments, concerns and criticism.**** Please tell me what you think I can do to make it better and I will respond.**** So Read and Review.**


	2. Worlds Collide

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.**

**BeastBoyfangirl: Sorry to hear that you've never heard of Captain Planet, hope you enjoy the story anyway. **

**arashi wolf princess: Glad you like it. Tried to make it better then my first attempt.**

**Negima Uzumaki: Yes, Joey will keep his cards with him throughout the story. To be honest I have no idea who I'm going to pair Joey up with, if anyone. That's one thing I'm still trying to figure out. Mai is defiantly a possibility though. **

**This chapter involves a two year time skip from the end of last chapter so the characters ages are as fallow. Yugi, Tristan, Tea, Joey, Linka, and Kwame are 19. Gi is 20. Serenity is 17. Ma-Ti is 14. **

**Starting with this chapter I will be flip flopping with Joey's name, sometimes referring to him as Joey and sometimes as Wheeler depending on which character is talking or referring to him. Just know that with both names I'm referring to the same character.**

**Chapter 2: Worlds Collide**

Wheeler yawed as he and the other Planeteers walked into the reek room. He made a bee line to the couch, and spread himself out. It had been a long day of fighting eco villains, and all he wanted to do was relax.

As he lay down Wheeler reflected on his life and how it had changed. It was hard to believe it had only been two years had been over two years since he'd come to Hope Island. It seemed like a life time since then.

Looking at his hand made Wheeler realize how much his physical appearance had changed. Before he was tall and lean from all the running and climbing he did with Yugi. It was no wonder he was the fastest one on the team. Now however, thanks to all the hard work he and the others did protecting the environment, and fights eco villains and their thugs, he had finally started to the rest of his body. Like his arms, chest and stomach.

Another change was his hair, it was shorter and less spiked then it used to be. Gi had cut it a while back saying he needed a new look. Her exact words were. _"You need a normal person's hair cut, not one that looks like something out of an anime."_ Wheeler wasn't exactly thrilled by the new look at first. At least not until Linka commented that she thought it looked cute. He kept it that way ever since.

Of course it wasn't just his appearance that had changed; his attitude had changed as well. When he first joined he was a hot tempered, headstrong, reckless…ok so he was still all of those things. But at least now he was smarter. He knew much more about the environment, the problem facing it, and what he could do to help. More importantly he had become lifelong friends out of his teammates, and had grown as close to them as his old friends back in Domino.

First there was Kwame. He was usually quiet, and very down earth. This was probably why he often assumed the role of leader whenever they went on a mission. Even though Kwame was usually serious, he did have a very good sense of humor. He reminded Joey a bit of Tristan. Kwame was very loyal and reliable, and of the four of them, was probably Wheeler's closest friend. Always there to help him whenever he had a problem.

The second was Ma-Ti. Wheeler was often amazed at how much the teen reminded him of his best friend Yugi. He was very compassionate, and selfless. Always willing to give of himself for the benefit of the whole. He was very optimistic, and always full of hope. Always looking on the bright side, and encouraging them to keep fighting, even when things seemed hopeless. Being the youngest Ma-Ti could sometimes be very childish, and naïve, and sometimes doubted himself and his abilities.

Then there was Gi, who was not only the oldest, but also the most intelligent and mature. For the most part Gi was a calm-spirited person, but at times she could be stubborn and quick-tempered, with a tendency to go off half-cocked. She had a spunky, tomboyish personality and was deeply compassionate for those she cared about. Like Tea, often played a big sister role for the group, helping to keep them all together when things got tough.

Finally there was Linka, whom Wheeler had fallen in love with almost at first sight. She was independent, strong-willed, and didn't like being treated like she was weak. Her hot-temper and feisty personality reminded him so much of Mia. Despite being the most logical she was very judgmental, and easily fooled by appearances, which sometimes got her into trouble. She was a perfectionist with a tendency to become easily frustrated, impatient or even insecure when faced with something she did not instantly excel at, making her the easiest to annoy. A trait he often took advantage of.

Wheeler glanced over to see what the others where up to. He smiled when he saw that the group where currently engaged in a duel monsters tag match, Kwame and Ma-Ti vs. Linka and Gi. There was a large empty space between the pair's to act as the duel area.

It was funny how such a big part of his old life, had managed to make its way into his new one. A couple of months ago they had saved an old man's card shop from being bulldozed, and turned into a parking garage. In gratitude the man gave each of the Planeteers a duel monsters starter deck, and 5 booster packs. Being a former pro Joey taught the others the basics of the game, and they became hooked on it, playing against each other whenever they had some free time.

Each one of them had a specific deck type. Kwame used a basic Rock defense deck, with a couple of plant monsters thrown in. Ma-Ti used a crystal beast deck. Gi used an aqua deck. It was similar to the one Maiko Tsunami used, though it wasn't quite as powerful. Then there was Linka, she had a winged-beast type deck. Wheeler was just glad she didn't use harpie ladies in her deck; then she'd really be dangerous.

Normally Wheeler would pull out his own deck, which he had kept up to date with new cards, or as up to date as he could living on an island, and join them. However since it was a tag match only four of them could duel. Plus he was pretty tired, and didn't feel like doing much or anything right now, not ever dueling. He decided to simply play the spectator and watch for now.

Right now Kwame and Ma-Ti had 1450 Life Points left, while Linka and Gi had 450. Kwame had one monster in face down defense mode, and no cards face down. Ma-Ti, Gi, and Linka all had no monsters on the field, and no card face down. It was Linka's turn.

Linka dew her card and looked at her hand. A smirk crossed her face as she put her monster in face up attack mode. "I will summon 'Sonic Shooter' (Atk. 1300 Def. 1000), and I will have him attack you directly."

Ma-Ti's eye went wide. "But you cannot do that. We have a monster on the field."

Linka smirked. "Da, but I can. My Sonic Shooter has a special ability. As long as you have no Spell or Traps on the field, it can attack your life points directly."

Kwame and Ma-Ti LP: 150

Linka finished her turn by laying one card face down.

Ma-Ti frowned and drew his card. "What do you think Sochi?" he said, showing the cards to his pet monkey. The monkey scratched his head as though considering what do. Finally he reached forward and grabbed one of the cards, holding it out and screeching.

Ma-Ti smiled. "That is what I was thinking to." he took the card from the monkey, and put it back in his hand. "First I will flip Kwame's face down monster face up," Ma-Ti flipped both monsters face up, revealing 'Golem Sentry'. "When this monster is flipped; I can return one monster on the field to the owners had. So I will return Sonic Shooter to your hand Linka. Now I will summon my 'Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise' (Atk. 600 Def. 2000). Now Emerald Tortoise and Golem Sentry; attack directly."

"Not so quickly," said Linka. "I will reveal my face down card, 'Mirror Force'. This card is activated when you attack, and it destroys all your monsters."

Before Ma-Ti put his monster in the graveyard though; Kwame intervened. "Not quite, I activate my spell, 'Book of Moon', and I will use it on Ma-Ti's Emerald Tortoise. It is a quick spell so I can activate it from my hand. It changes one monster from face up attack to face down defense, and your Mirror Force only destroys monsters that are in attack mode."

Ma-Ti looked over at Kwame, silently thanking him before continuing with his turn. "I will put two cards face down, and end my turn. It is your move Gi."

Gi drew her card, and looked at her hand. "Let's see? First I'll discard my 'Warrior of Atlantis' from my hand to the grave. That way I can add A Legendary Ocean from my deck to my hand."

Gi put the monster in the grave then searched her deck for the proper card. She put the card in her hand then shuffled her deck. "Now I activate 'A Legendary Ocean'." Gi placed the card in the field spell area. "Thanks to Legendary Ocean all water monsters on the field or in anyone's hand are downgraded by one level. Now I can summon, 'Giga Gagagigo' (Atk. 2450 Def. 1500). Legendary Ocean also gives all water monsters an extra two hundred attack and defense points. (Giga Gagagigo Atk. 2650 Def.1700) (Emerald Tortoise Atk. 800 Def. 2200). Giga Gagagigo attacks Emerald Tortoise."

"Not quite my friend." said Ma-Ti "I will activate 'Rush Recklessly'. It too is a quick spell. It gives one monster 700 extra attack points, and I will use it on your Gaia Gagagigo." (Atk 2650 3350)

Gi blinked. "But why would you do that?"

Ma-Ti smiled. "So that I can activate my face down card; 'Reverse Trap'. This card reverses any effects that increase or decrease a monsters attack or defense. Now instead of gaining 900 attack points from A Legendary Ocean, and Rush Recklessly, your monster losses 900 attack points." (Giga Gagagigo Atk. 3350 1550)

Giga Gagagigo Atk.1550 vs. Emerald Tortoise. 2000.

Gi and Linka LP: 0

"That was a good match." said Kwame.

Gi nodded. "I know, I really thought we had you for a second. Nice move with that Reverse Trap by the way."

Joey grinned as he watched the others play. They had really come a long way in a short time. When they first started only Gi actually knew how to play, and even she wasn't that good. But as time went on and they learned the rules and strategies of the game they became much better. True, Joey was still the best among them, but now he had to really give it his all in order to stay a step ahead of them. On the plus side having four different opponents who all used different cards and strategies really helped him keep his skills sharp.

As they picked up their cards, Gi turned to Wheeler. "Oh Wheeler I almost forgot. A letter came for you today. It's on the table."

Wheeler pushed himself up off the couch, and walked over to the table. He found the letter and saw that it was from his home town of Domino, more specifically his younger sister Serenity. Quickly he ripped open the letter and began reading.

"Who's it from?" asked Gi.

Wheeler yelped in surprise. He had been so preoccupied reading the letter; he had completely forgotten the others were even there. "It's from my sister. She's says there's going to be a big duel monsters tournament next week, and wants me to come home for it."

"That sounds like fun. Are you going to enter?" said Ma-Ta.

Wheeler nodded enthusiastically. "Heck ya I'm going." Just then Wheeler was struck by a great idea. "Hey why don't you guys come with me? You'd love it. There's sure to be all kinds of great duelists. Not to mention all the food you can eat."

"I'm in," said Ma-Ti.

"Me to," added Gi.

"How long do these tournaments last?" asked Linka.

Wheeler shrugged. "I don't know, it depends, couple of days, maybe a week."

Linka frowned. "I am not sure if it a good idea. What if there is an emergency while we are away?"

Wheeler frowned. Out of all of them Linka was the most serious and hardworking, always putting missions and work first. It was an admiral quality considering the important work they did, but at times she was simply too up-tight. "Aw come on babe, there hasn't been an emergency in weeks. Besides Gaia can always contact us if something comes up."

Linka thought about it, weighing the pro and cons before reluctantly giving in. "I suppose, but if something comes up, we must leave immediately."

Wheeler nodded, and then turned his attention to Kwame. "What do you say Kwame. You in?"

Kwame smiled. "It would seem that I do not have much of a chose."

Wheeler grinned. "Then it's settled. Pack you bag's everybody. Next stop Domino City."

**--------**

Wheeler glanced nervously out the geo-cruiser window. He knew there was no real reason for her to be so jittery, well, that's what he tried to tell himself anyway. He knew he should be delighted, and he was, to have all the gang together again, but he hadn't seen some of them in so long.

While he was getting used to his life as a Planeteer the others were making their own lives elsewhere. Not that he was surprised. It had only been a few weeks after the four of them graduated from High School that Gaia had summoned him to Hope Island. Of course they were going to move forward with their lives.

Tristan had joined the air force, which didn't surprise him. Tristan often told him it was his dream to be a pilot, and he was also an amazing sharpshooter.

Tea had realized her long time dream, and was now living in New York after having received a scholarship for the dance academy she always dreamed of going to.

Yugi was now following in his grandfather's footsteps, studying to be both an archeologist and Egyptologist.

Serenity was the only he cared about who still lived in Domino, mostly because she hadn't graduated High School yet. However because of the bad relationship he had with his mother, spending time with her was almost impossible.

The only time he had actually come home was when he got a letter from his mom about his father's failing liver. While there he ended up running into, and helping his old girlfriend Trish.

Joey smiled as he thought of his old friend, and former girlfriend. After his mom and Serenity left, Joey was alone. He had no one, no friends, and no family other than an angry drunk for a father, who regularly beat him. All that changed when he meet Trish. Like him, Trish came from a broken home, and spent her time wandering the allies rather than deal with her family.

There was something else the two had in common. Their indomitable spirit. Most kids who grew up on the street were broken down by it. They quickly gave up on whatever dreams they had, and surrendering themselves to a life in the gutter. But they were different. They wanted more. Trish wanted to be an artist, and he wanted to travel and see the world. In a way both their dreams came true. Although he never imagined his dream would turn out like this.

In Trish Joey found not just a friend, he found someone who truly understood him. Back then They were just a pair or crazy kids out to have fun, and raise hell. Stealing, going to wild parties, vandalizing public property, and or course fighting. That was the life they lived, and the live it together. In time their friendship evolved. They became a couple, and eventually, lovers.

For the longest time it was just the two of them. Then came the day in middle school when he meet Tristan. It was actually Trish who had introduced him to Tristan. After that, the three of them formed their own little group, and became almost inseparable.

Or so he thought.

Joey sighed. Back in those days he thought that he and Trish would be together forever. Then High School started, and everything changed. They were forced to part ways when they ended up going to different schools. Soon after that Joey meet Yugi and Tea, and became friends with them. Suddenly Trish wasn't as high on his priority list, and they began to see less and less or each other. When he started going to tournaments, and began helping Yugi save the world, they lost touch completely.

The last time he saw her was when he'd come to visit his father. He was sad to find that Trish had let her life on the streets get to her, falling so low as to think of herself as trash, and work for the scum like Verminous Scum. It wasn't easy, but thankfully he managed to get through her think skull and help her get her life back on the right track. _'I sure hope she's doing ok.'_

"I do not understand it," said Linka, snapping Wheeler out of his daydream.

"Understand what?" asked Wheeler.

"I always thought that you had grown up in Brooklyn, but now you are telling us that you grew up in this place called Domino. It does not make sense," said Linka.

Wheeler smiled. "I makes perfect sense, babe. See I was born in Brooklyn, but I grew up in Domino. My family moved there when I was a kid, when my dad got transferred overseas."

It was somewhat ironic, thought Wheeler. His mother had been so happy when they moved from New York to Domino. She said that the quite streets of Domino would be a much better place to raise children then the mean streets Brooklyn. Yet after the divorce and he ended up living with his father, he lived just as rough a life as would have if he stayed in New York, maybe rougher.

"But what about you Brooklyn accent?" asked Ma-Ti.

Wheeler shrugged. "My dad was from Brooklyn, and my mom was from Queens. After they split I got stuck with my dad, and that's how he always talked."

"Speaking of which, I believe we have arrived," said Kwame. Gracefully he tilted the plane downward, landing in a large open area in the middle of a park.

They were all dressed in their normal clothes, except that none of them were wearing their Planeteer logo. After all this was technically a vacation.

Kwame was dressed in a brown t-shirt with a green denim jacket over it. He had on a pair of green pants, a brown belt, and a pair of brown work boots. His neck and left wrist were adorned with the golden tribal rings from his home land.

Linka was dressed in a blue tank top with a white long-sleeve shirt underneath. She had on a pair of sky blue pants, with two white belts. One was fastened regularly around her waist, while the other was fastened only on the right side so it dropped low on the left. She wore a pair of blue imitation leather boots that matched her shirt.

Gi was dressed in a long-sleeved turquoise shirt that stretched down to just below her wait. She wore a pair of dark blue shorts underneath, along with matching high tops, and light brown belt that she wore at an angle.

Ma-Ti was dressed in a yellow shirt, with a pair of brown cargo shorts, and brown tennis shoes. Tied on his right arm was his traditional Indian arm band, and perched on his shoulder was Sochi.

Wheeler however, was dressed in nothing more than a simple pair of black jeans, a red shirt and matching red tennis shoes.

Although Wheeler was the only one actually entered in the tournament, each had a duel box attached to their belt with their deck inside.

As Wheeler stepped out of the geo cruiser, he breathed the city air deep into his lungs. "Aw, home sweet home."

Gi smiled and nodded. "I know what you mean." Even though she had been born and raised in Asia rather than Japan it did feel nice to be this close to home. In fact while they were flying she realized that the beach where she spent much her childhood was right across from Domino. Granted right across was about two or three hundred miles.

Once everyone was out of the plane, they unloaded their backpacks from the compartment located on the side of the plane. Kwame then pointed his ring at the ground near the plane. "Earth."

Green energy waves shot from his ring and the ground began to shift, as large walls of earth rose up, and encased the geo cruiser in a dome of grass covered earth, causing it to look like nothing more than an ordinary hill. They had started doing this after an incident in New York when the geo-cruiser had been striped for parts.

"There. Now we will not have to worry about anyone stumbling onto it by accident," said Kwame.

"So where do we go now?" asked Ma-Ti.

"Domino Plaza," said Wheeler. "My sister said she'd meet us at the fountain."

Wheeler lead the way as the group headed for the plaza, where he began looking around, trying to find his sister. Since the others didn't know what Wheeler's sister looked like, they simply stayed near the fountain.

"Where is she?" pondered Wheeler, scratching his head in confusion. "She said she'd be here." He'd been search for over ten minutes and was starting to become worried. What if something had happened to her? What if she was hurt? Just as he was beginning to panic he spotted an unmistakable head of chestnut brown hair.

Wheeler smirked as an idea came to him. Carefully he approached the girl from behind, and wrapped his arms around her. "Gotcha."

Serenity screamed in terror, and elbowed her attacker in the gut.

Wheeler immediately let go of her, and stepped back in pain. "Ow! Man you hit hard."

Serenity blinked. She'd know that voice anywhere. She whirled around to come face to face with a red headed boy who was doubled over, holding his stomach in pain. "Joey?"

Wheeler grinned as he looked up, and Serenity got a good look at the red head's smiling face. "Hey sis."

The man in front of her was not at all the person she was expecting to see. He was taller, and more muscular. His hair was a completely different color and style. But one look at his rugged smiling face, and those soft brown eyes, told her all she needed to know. Serenity squealed in happiness, and gave her bother a tight hug. "Oh Joey. It's so good to see you. I've missed you so much."

Wheeler was caught off guard by the embrace, but returned it just the same. "I missed you too."

The two stood there for a few seconds, holding each other. It had been so long since they last saw each other.

Finally Serenity released her brother, and stepped back to take a good look at her him. "Wow. You sure have changed haven't you?"

Joey smiled. "I'm not the only one. Look at you. You've really grown too," he said, as he took a good look at his baby sister. Though she wasn't a baby anymore. She was now as tall as him, and had a full hourglass figure, with a well developed chest. She was every bit as beautiful as Mia. The only difference was Serenity wore clothes that they weren't nearly as revealing. _'Thank goodness for that,'_ he thought.

"Come on I'll introduce you to my friends," he said walking her over to his friends.

"Sis these are my friends. This is Kwame, Linka, Gi, and Ma-Ti. Guy's this is my sister Serenity."

Serenity smiled, and bowed politely. "It's nice to meet you all. Joey's told me a lot about you guys."

As his sister introduced herself Joey looked around. It was only now that he realized that Serenity was the only one around. "Hey, where are Yugi and the others?"

Serenity tilted her head in confusion, as though she had just now realized the absence of her other friends. "Come on I'll show you," she said, dragging Joey away. Not sure what to do the other simply fallowed.

----

In another part of the plaza, Tea sighed as she joined back up with Yugi and Tristan. "Well, I can't find."

Yugi frowned. "Serenity did say he would meet us right, here?"

"Maybe he just forgot. This is Joey we're talking about," said Tristan.

"Or maybe he was just so handsome that you didn't recognize him."

The others whirled around at the familiar yet unknown voice, only to see Serenity standing behind them with an unknown man with red hair.

"Umm, Serenity. Who's this?" asked Tea.

Serenity chuckled lightly. "It's Joey."

The other's gasped and stared wide eyed at the figure. They couldn't believe that this guy was their old friend Joey Wheeler. "Joey?"

Wheeler smiled. "Hey guys."

The smile on his face, and sound of his voice, thick with that ever present Brooklyn accent was all the proof they need. In an instant they all rushing from their chairs, and engulfing Joey in a group hug.

Joey smiled as he accepted the traditional group hug. The others hadn't really changed much. Tea and Tristan both looked the mostly the same. The only real change was that Tea had grown her hair out, and now wore it in a short ponytail.

It seemed the only one who had really changed was Yugi. Apparently he had hit a growth spurt, and was now taller than Tea, though he was still shorter than Joey and Tristan. His face had matured, and he now looked more like his old alter ego, Atem. Except for his eye, his eyes still held the same childhood innocence they always had.

"Look at you," said Tea once they pulled away. "What did you do to your hair?"

Wheeler grabbed a piece of his hair in confusion. "What? You don't like it?"

It was then that the others noticed the group standing a small distance away. "Who are they?"

Wheeler looked over at the other Planeteers and motioned them to come over. Up until now they had decided to they had decided t to hang back out of politeness, and allow Wheeler the joy of seeing his friends again. "Guys I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Kwame, Linka, Gi, and Ma-Ti. Guys this is Yugi, Tea, and Tristan."

Tristan immediately spotted Linka and just as with every other pretty girl he had meet, was struck by cupid's arrow. He walked up to her attempting to act suave and cool. "My name is Tristan, but you can call me whatever you want."

Joey glared daggers at Tristan. He was about to do something when Tea intervened, and pulled Tristan away by his ear. "Come on Romeo."

Serenity caught the look that her brother gave Tristan. She distinctly remembered how her brother would often talk about the blonde in his letters.

After introductions were made the large group spent the day wondering around Domino city as Joey show the Planeteers the town where he'd grown up, pointing out all the sights along the way.

Some parts of the city however had changed drastically in the two years Joey had been gone, and where not as he remembered them. He was sad to find that the arcade where he and Tristan had spent much of their time and allowances was gone, as well as the 'Hamburger World' where Tea had once worked and the four of had spent much time together was also gone.

He was not quite as thrilled to find that the high school was still standing and aside from looking slightly smaller than remembered didn't seem to have changed at all. Even though school had always been one of his least favorite places he couldn't deny that it held more memories for him than any other place. It was where he had fist meet and become best friends with Yugi and Tea, and where he'd fist started playing duel monster, often instead of doing his work.

As night fall approached the group ended their day by heading to Yugi's grandfather's card shop.

The bell above the door jingled as Yugi opened it and stepped inside. "Grandpa, I'm back," he said.

Mr. Muto stopped the sweeping he had been doing, and smiled as he looked up at his grandson. "Aw Yugi. Welcome home." It was then that Mr. Muto saw the other's that were with his grandson. "Who are your friends?"

Yugi looked behind him at the Planeteers. "Well the one with red hair is Joey, and the others are his friends the Planeteers."

Mr. Muto. Yu had told him that Joey would be for the tournament but he could barely believe that this man was Joey Wheeler. "Joey? My, my, you certainly have changed."

Joey smiled as he walked to Mr. Muto's and shook his hand. "It's nice to see you to gramps." As he greeted his old duel teacher Joey couldn't help but notice how much older the man looked. He had wrinkles that Joey didn't remember seeing before, and his hair was beginning to thing, revealing the age spots hidden underneath.

"I believe we should get going. We still must check into our hotel," said Kwame

Mr. Moto looked at the Kwame in confusion. "Hotel? I thought you were staying here tonight like Tristan, Tea, and Serenity."

Gi shook her head. "Thank you very much for the offer Mr. Muto, but we couldn't possibly intrude like that."

Mr. Moto smiled brightly. "None sense. Any friend of my grandson's is welcome here. I insist that you stay here tonight."

"No offense gramps, but it's the shop a little small," remarked Joey. True in the past he Yugi, Tristan, and Tea had multiple sleepovers at the shop before. But with his sister and the Planeteers joining them, he wasn't sure there would be enough room for all of them.

"I'm sure we can make some room," remarked Mr. Muto.

Linka started to protest but Mr. Muto quickly cut her off. "Now, now. I won't take no for an answer," he said indicating that the argument was over.

That night the group sat in the living area located behind the shop in their pajamas. Scattered around them were soda cans and various bags of snacks and sweets. The group had been for talking for hours. They talked about their lives, and how their lives hand changed. They talked about their pasts and they adventures they'd all had. Weather it was fighting the forces of darkness and the shadow realm, or saving the world from pollution and destruction.

"So you guys really go all around world fighting evil?" asked Serenity. When Joey regaled them stories of his adventures as a Planeteers she was fascinated. Even though some of his stories were a bit farfetched, she and the others believed every word he said. She knew her brother would never lie to her, and besides, they had all seen far weirder in her time.

"Actually our main goal is to help protect the environment, and teach people how they can live without depleting the world's natural resources," said Kwame.

The other nodded and Gi continued. "But there are some people who are so blinded by their own greed that they don't care who they hurt or what kind of damage they do to the environment. When that happens we do what we ever we can to stop try and stop them."

Joey turned to his best friend. "So what about you guys? What have you been up to recently?"

Yugi smiled brightly. "Actually I just got back from a dig in Egypt with my teacher, Professor Hawkins."

Joey raised an eyebrow. He hadn't realized that Yugi's teacher was Mr. Muto's old friend, Arthur Hawkins. A smirk crossed his lips. "So if Professor Hawkins is your teacher. I bet that means you spend a lot more time with Rebecca now, huu." Joey knew how embarrassed Yugi was of the crush the young genius had on him, and simply couldn't resist teasing him about it.

Tea however, frowned in anger at the mention of the young genius, crushing the soda can she was holding in her hand.

Yugi blushed scarlet, and began to stammer. "Ya…well, she is the Professors grand-daughter. Of course I spend time with her. Anyway what about you Joey. Anyone special?"

Joey blushed a bit, "Well there is someone," he said, taking a quickly glance at Linka. "But…"

Serenity gave her brother curious look. She caught the quick glance he had gave Linka. She wondered if perhaps there was something more going on between them then what he was willing to reveal.

"But…" said Tea, wanting more information from her blonde, correction, red headed companion. She was going to have to get used to that.

"It's complicated," he said, unwilling to go into detail.

"Let me guess, she's blonde right," said Tristan.

"What makes you say that?" asked Wheeler.

Tristan chuckled. "Please Joey, you've always had a thing for blondes. First Trish, then Mai, then…"

"Can we talk about something else now please," said Joey, not wanting his friends to go into detail on the long list of his former girlfriends. Especially not while Linka was around.

As the group continued to talk, Serenity couldn't keep a large smile from gracing her lips. It had been a while since she had this much fun, and she was so happy to have all her friends by his side again, especially her brother. After Yugi and the other graduated high school last year, they all seemed to go their separate ways, and had less and less contact with each other. Which left her feeling very lonely.

That was why she was so happy when she had heard about the tournament. The second she found out she called everyone in the group, and invited them to come to the tournament.

She was especially happy when she learned that her brother would be coming. Even though he was the only one she had any regular contact with, she still missed him terribly, and it made her happy to have him back. Even if it was only for a few days.

**Hope you liked the chapter. I did my best to try and fill in all the plot holes of how the two stories effectively cross over. I think I managed to cover all the bases. **

**The outfits that the Planeteer are wearing are the ones that they wore in the later episodes.**

**I'm making** **this** **story up as I go, so if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. **

**Until the next chapter, please Read and Review. **

**Also, for anyone interested here is a list of all the cards used in this chapter and what they do. I will do this for any chapter that includes cards being played in a duel.**

(Monsters)

Name: Giga Gagagigo / Attribute: Water / Type: Reptile / Lv. 5 / Atk: 2450 Def: 1200

Name: Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise / Attribute: Water / Type: Aqua / Lv. 3 / Atk: 600 Def: 2000 /Effect: Once per turn you can change 1 of your monsters that attacked this turn to defense position. If this card is destroyed while it is in a monster card zone, can be place it face up in your spell and trap card zone as a continuous spell card, instead of sending it to the graveyard.

Name: Sonic Shooter / Attribute: Wind / Type: Winged Beast / Lv. 3 / Atk: 1300 Def: 1000 / Effect: If there are no cards in your opponent's spell and trap card zones, this card can attack your opponents life points directly. When it does any battle damage this card inflicts to your opponent's life points becomes the original attack of this card.

Name: Golem Sentry / Attribute: Earth / Type: Rock / Lv. 4 / Atk. 800 Def. 1800 / Effect: Once per turn you can flip this card into face down defense position. When this card is flip summoned, return 1 monster on your opponents side of the field to the owners hand.

Name: Warrior of Atlantis / Attribute: Water / Type: Aqua / Lv. 4 / Atk. 1900 Def. 1200 / Effect: You can discard this card to the graveyard to add 1 "A Legendary Ocean" from you deck to your hand.

(Spells)

Name: Book of Moon / Type: Ouickplay / Effect: Flip one face up monster face down.

Name: Rush Recklessly / Type: Quickplay / Effect: Target face-up monster gets 700 attack pts until the end of this turn.

Name: A Legendary Ocean / Type: Field Spell / Effect: This cards name is treated as "Umi". Downgrade all water monsters on the field and in both players' hands by 1 level. Increase the attack and defense of all water monsters by 200 points.

(Traps)

Name: Mirror Force / Effect: You can only activate this card when your opponent's monster declares an attack. Destroy all monsters in attack position on your opponent's side of the field.

Name: Reverse Trap / Effect: All increases and decreases to attack and defense are reversed for the turn in which this card is activated.


	3. Duelists Gather

**I'm a little sad that I only got one review for the last chapter, but as long as I know at least one person is reading and enjoying the story then that good enough for me.**

**So to Beastboyfangirl I say thanks for the awesome review. **

**Chapter 3: Duelists Gather**

The next morning Wheeler yawned and stretched as he woke the next morning. He glanced around the room to find that he was all alone. The remains of discarded blanket and pillows the only indication that anyone had been there the previous night. Not awake he lazily removed himself from his makeshift bedding. Still dressed in the white shirt and flame red bottoms he wore last night, he sluggishly walked downstairs. As he did he could hear the sound of bacon sizzling, and the delicious scent of fresh pancakes and eggs Benedict.

He headed to the kitchen to find the others already up and dressed, and sitting down waiting to eat.

Serenity was the first to notice him as he sluggishly walked in, still rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning big brother," she said with a sweet smile on her face.

The others turned realizing the last of their group had awoken and bid Joey a good morning. Joey smiled as much as he could through his sleep induced daze, and held up a hand giving them all half heated wave. "Why didn't you guys wake me?" he yawned.

"We tried, but you wouldn't wake up," said Gi.

Joey smiled sheepishly. It was well know that he was a very heavy sleeper. As he plopped down in the seat next to Yugi he caught sight of a familiar item dangling around his friend's neck, and it sparked a question in his mind. "Hey Yug how'd you get the millennium puzzle back anyhow, last I remember it and the other millennium item's all feel down a bottomless hole in that pyramid in Egypt." It was shortly before Joey was summoned to join the Planeteers that the group had been invited to Egypt by Ishizu Ishtar who and informed them that in order for the spirit inside Yugi's puzzle to be freed and return to where it belonged, he had to be defeated in a duel in the pyramid where the Millennium Items were held. With the power of the Millennium items Yugi was able to duel, and win against his other self. When the duel was over the pyramid they were dueling in collapsed and the millennium items had been lost.

Yugi's face took on a slightly somber face at the mention of the group's last adventure together. "Actually it's not the real millennium puzzle, it's just a replica my grandpa made me." While Yugi was happy that Atem had finally been able to find the peace he so right disserved, he still missed his other self greatly. Atem had been more than just a friend to him, more than a mentor, he was a part of him, and in a way so was a millennium puzzle.

His grandfather sensing his grandson's depression over the loss of his other self he had decided to do what he could to help, and made him a new millennium puzzle. Even though Yugi knew it wasn't the real millennium item, and even if it was it would not contain the spirit that had helped guide him and was so close to him, the feel of the familiar object around his neck helped gave him confidence in himself, and a sense of security.

Joey nodded, he was about to ask another question when Mr. Moto, who had finished frying up the bacon, served him a plate, which he gladly accepted with a warm smile and a thank you, before shoveling in food as fast as he could.

While everyone else ate a normal sized meal, both Tristan and Wheeler engorged themselves shoveling in food like it was their last meal. Each eating enough to feed at least three people.

"Wheeler slow down. You are going to choke," said Linka. Though she and the Planeteers where all used to Joey's insatiable appetite, it didn't stop her from trying to get him to be more careful about eating so much, so fast.

Wheeler swallowed the food in his mouth. "I can't help it Linka. It's been a long time since I had food like this," he said, shoveling in another mouth full.

Gi leaned over and whispered to Tea. "Has he always been like this?"

Tea giggled and smiled. "Ya, pretty much."

After breakfast everyone packed their bags to leave for the tournament. The building where the tournament was taking place was an upscale five star hotel, and while the tournament was taking place the duelist would be given free commendations. Even though the tournament didn't actually start until tomorrow, it was required that all duelists check in at least the day before.

Once they were all set they all gathered by the door to leave. Yugi and Joey were both wearing their duel disk on their wrists. Joey was surprised and thankful that his still worked after not using for so long.

Yugi turned to his grandfather. "Well we're all set. Wish us luck Grandpa."

Mr. Moto smiled. "Good luck my boy, and god luck to you to Joey."

Joey smiled and nodded. "Thanks gramps. You're gonna be there when the tournament starts right?"

Mr. Moto smiled. "Of course I am. I wouldn't dream of missing seeing my two best students duel."

Gi walked over and bowed to Mr. Moto. "It was very nice to meet you Mr. Moto, and thank you for letting us stay the night."

Mr. Moto smiled. "No need to thank me, it was my pleasure." Truth be told he had enjoyed having the group here. Even since Joey and the others had all gone their separate ways two years ago the shop had been so quiet. It was nice to hear it filled once again with the laughter of children. Granted none of them were children anymore.

--------

It took more time than they thought it would, but they finally managed to locate the building for the tournament in the upper part of town. The building was a tall white building with numerous windows along each side, and almost blended in with the other tall buildings that surrounded it. On the front was the letter's LP. Outside the building was a long line of duelists all waiting to gain access to the building.

"I've never seen this place before," said Joey.

"That's because it's new," said Serenity. "They just built it last year."

Joey looked up at the building. For some reason that he couldn't explain there was something about the building that sent a shiver down his spine. _'LP? Why does that sound familiar?'_ Shrugging it off he, Yugi, and the others took their place at the back of the line.

It took them almost an hour to get to the front of the line. When they finally reached the front they were met by a bald man in a black business suit and sunglasses. He had a stern look on his face, and a clipboard in his hands. Next to him was a long table with a green silk table cloth over it, stacked with identical boxes that were a foot long and half a foot high and wide.

"Names?" said the man.

"Yugi Moto."

"Joey Wheeler."

The man glanced down at the clipboard in his hands before nodding. He picked up two boxes from the table and handed them to Yugi and Joey. "Here are you duel disks."

"That's ok we already have some," said Yugi, holding up the duel disk strapped to his wrist that he receaved years ago during battle city.

"These are new models made specifically for the tournament," said the man. "If you want to participate in the tournament you must use them."

Yugi and Joey both raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. They opened the boxes and took out the new duel disks. They were certainly different than the ones they were currently using. They both were smaller and lighter. The overall design had been changed as well, making the edges curved instead of straight. Instead of it being made of two parts that combined together into one to create the card holders, it was now one piece that slide out. In the middle was a turquoise colored gem. The whole thing reminded Joey a bit of the duel disks that Darts and his henchmen had used long ago. Joey shook the horrible memories of those dark times from his mind and slipped the device onto his arm.

Armed with their new duel disks the group entered into the lobby of the hotel. The room was far bigger on the inside then it looked on the outside. Even with the long line outside the inside of the building was already packed with people. There was a large open stage area in the center of the room that was blocked off by velvet ropes, and the walls were lined with elegant banquet tables filled with various types of foods. Nearly everyone in the room was wearing the new version of the duel disk just like Yugi and Joey, and carrying a deck somewhere on their person. Some even had multiple decks.

Joey took the time to look around at the duelist assembled. There were a few duelist that he recognize but most of them where people he had never seen before. _'Guess I'm out of touch,' _he thought.

"Well, well, if it isn't the geek squad."

Joey stopped in his tracks, instantly recognizing the sharp and cold voice. A voice that brought bad memories to the surface of his mind. _'Only one guy could be that annoying.'_ "Kaiba," he sneered.

The entire group whirled around and sure enough standing a few feet behind them and the others was none other than Seto Kaiba. Looking just as cruel and devious as the last time Joey had seen him.

Kaiba gave Joey a look of curiosity and contempt "Do I know you?" he asked wondering how the red haired boy whom had never seen before knew his name.

Joey smirked. "What the matter? Don't recognize me rich boy."

Kaiba's eyes widened in realization. Only one person had ever called him that name. "Wheeler?"

Joey smirked, crossing his arms over his chest, his stance taking on a more casual look. "You were expecting maybe Marik."

Yugi looked back and forth between the two duelists, glancing at his friend in concern. He saw Joey's fist tighten to the point that the knuckles began to turn white, and Kaiba had a terribly hard look in his eye, one he remembered him wearing when beginning a fight. He wanted to say something to stop them, but he hadn't the faintest idea what to say even if he found her voice.

The two stood there saying nothing as they simply glared at each other, each attempting to size the other up. The temperature of the room seemed to suddenly drop, as the atmosphere between the two quickly becoming tensed and strained.

"I see you finally cut that ugly rug you call hair," mocked Kaiba.

"I see yours is still just as ugly," retorted Joey, the lightness in his tone fading fast.

Kaiba growled low under his breath, but the look of anger on Kaiba's face quickly faded, and quickly turned into a smirk. and grinned from cheek to cheek. "You know Wheeler. I must say I'm surprised to see you here. Last I heard you'd quit dueling, and ran off with your tail between your legs." He said, not hiding the grin on his face.

"Don't believe everything you hear Kaiba." said Joey, getting right in the billionaire's face. There was a hardness in his voice, just under the surface of his words that made the more perceptive people in the room back away slowly. A hush fell over the small crowd as everyone waited, looking from Joey to Kaiba and back nervously.

Tristan was having an ever harder time controlling himself then Joey was. Only his military training and his hope that Joey would beat the smug duelist to a pulp kept him from attacking.

Kaiba also noticed the coldness in Joey's voice and was surprised by it, but retained his normal calculating coldness. He was amused that Joey actually had the guts to stand up to him. "Well if they let a third rate duelist like you in, then winning this tournament is going to be even easier than I thought."

Joey growled slightly rage burning in his eyes as he clenched his fist. He looked as though he might attack Kaiba right then and there. Wheeler glared at Kaiba, Two years ago a remark like that would have been enough to set him off, but he had learned to control his anger. Somewhat.

He glared slightly at the red head, then continued, his voice becoming coldly confident. "You're gonna have get past me and Yugi to do it."

Kaiba leaned forward a bit more, grinning at Joey with an almost sadistic smug satisfaction. "I intend to." With a swipe of his long coat he confidently strode away.

The rest of the group walked up to Joey as he continued to glare dagger into the back of Kaiba's retreating figure. Yugi, Tristan, and Tea where slightly impressed by the fact that Joey had managed to talked to Kaiba without losing his temper.

"A friend of yours," said Kwame rhetorically.

Joey snorted. "Ya. He's right up there with Hogish Greedly and Sly Sludge."

"I like his fangs," said Gi sarcastically.

Joey smiled. He was about to walk away when suddenly spotted a head of wavy blond hair. _'No way? It can't be?'_ "Would guys excuse me for a second?"

Without waiting for a response Joey walked off. He pushed and shoved as he made his way through the large crowd of people, keeping his eyes completely focused on the blond he was pursuing. He never thought that he'd see Mai here. No, that wasn't true. He had thought. Or rather, he'd hoped. It'd been so long, though. It had seemed silly to really think she'd be here.

It wasn't so silly now that he was standing here staring at her back. That is if it really was her. He wouldn't put it past himself to be hallucinating. He called her name. She didn't move, and he felt a fool. Again. Dammit, again, he always did embarrass himself when it came to her. _'Mai? It's not you?'_

She turned, and his stomach dropped. His mouth, too, but he didn't notice.

"Mai?" he said again in the same dumbfounded voice. It was a start. He tried to say something besides her name, but nothing came to mind. He just stared at her, words failing. So much had come between them when she had fought with Dartz. At the same time, so much had strengthened. Risking his life when they all wanted to kill Marik anyway was nice and all, but fighting her, when she was trying to kill him and he owed her nothing, that was something. If he hadn't known how he felt about her before he'd gone to America, he certainly knew after. He'd been happy to fight and nearly die. The question was, how did _she_ feel?

Mai was the first to break the silence between then, though not in a pleasant way. "Do I know you?" she asked. The tone in her voice clearly indicating that she was quickly losing her patience with him.

Joey felt slightly hurt. He figured if anyone would recognize him it would be Mai. Then again even Serenity didn't know it was him at first, and she was his sister. "It's me Mai. It's Joey."

Mai's face went from aggravated to surprise. "J…Joey?" She stared at the figure in front as her eyes drank in his new appearance. Gazing at him she felt her cheeks begin to burn and butterflies to materialize in her stomach. She almost couldn't believe that this boy, no, this man, was really Joey Wheeler.

She wanted to run. She wanted to run. She wanted to run as far as she could and never look back, but thousands of people and her own cowardice kept her standing where she was. Joey stared at her, and she stared back.

"What are you doing here?" she finally got out. His smile fell. The question hurt him, and she winced. She hadn't meant to; it had slipped out. He wasn't supposed to be here.

"Same as you I guess. Win some duels, and have some fun." he answered in a level voice. The excitement that was usually there when talking about duels was absent.

"I didn't mean..." she started, but swallowed it. What? She didn't mean to offend him? No she didn't, but did it really matter? It paled compared with what she had done to him before.

Mai lowered her head and in a low voice responded. "Dueling hasn't been fun for me in a long time."

Joey could hear the sorrow and loneliness in her voice. The same loneliness that had been there when she allowed herself to be used by Dartz. He reached out to touch her. "Mai?"

Mai shook her head, stepping back from Joey's touch as though it was poison. "I…I have to go." Without so much as a goodbye she took off into the crowd, her form becoming lost in the sea of people.

Joey let out a deep sigh. "Just like old times all right."

His mussing was interrupted by his sister coming over and grabbing him by the arm. "Come on their about to start the opening ceremonies,"

Joey nodded, not really paying attention to her words, as he allowed himself to be dragged over to a side of the room where everyone was gathering.

Up on the floor above them a man steeped out and up to railing. He was dressed in a green business with tiger pattern inseam over a white collar shirt. He wore a brown tie, and what looked to be alligator skin shoes. His well cut brown hair tied back in a low ponytail. Wheeler's eyes went wide in disbelief as stared at the man. "Plunder? What's the heck's he doing here?"

"Didn't you know Joey? He's the one throwing the tournament?" said Tea.

Wheeler stared up at the man with wide eyes as did the rest of the Planeteers. _'This cannot be good.'_

Plunder looked out at people below surveying those that had gathered. "Welcome duelists, to the battle nexus. My name is Lootan Plunder. I am the sponsor of this tournament. You are all here because you are the best duelist in the world. The best of the best. The rules of the tournament are simple. Your deck must adhere to tournament format. The duels will be single round eliminations, with the winner moving onto the next round. The winner of the tournament will receive one million dollars in prize money, and the title of the battle nexus champion. Know this. There is no prize for second place."

At that everyone began whispering amongst themselves. None of them had ever heard of a tournament where there was no prize for second place.

Plunder waited for the whispering to die down before continuing with his speech. "Now then you have all been given new duel disks. Please turn them on to be sure they are working."

At once everyone turned on the duel disks attached to their arms. There was a sound as the disks activated and the gem in the middle glowed. Joey activated the duel disk on his arm. As he did, his ring began to glow, and the duel disk began to shout out sparks. _'What the heck's going on?_' After a second or two the sparks stopped, and the duel disk appeared to be working normally. He looked around to see if anything weird was happening with any other duel disks, and found that everyone else's disk were acting normal. _'Figures I get the duel disk with a short in it.'_

Above Plunder continued. "The first rounds of the tournament will begin tomorrow so I suggest you all get a good night sleep and plain your strategies for tomorrow."

---------

Later that night the entire group sat in one of the two rooms that Joey and Yugi had been given to sJoeyp in during the tournament. Because Yugi was the duel monsters camp and Joey was a former tournament finalists, they had been given slightly bigger rooms then those who were not. Big enough at least that all ten of them could fit in only two rooms. Since there were more boys than girls, the boys would say in Yugi's which was the bigger of the two, while the girls stayed in Joey's. Currently they were all in Yugi's room discussing what the revelation that Looten Plunder was sponsoring the tournament.

"I can't believe this. I can't believe Plunder is the one running the tournament," said Joey.

"What do you think Plunder is up to?" asked Ma-Ti.

"Whatever it is it cannot be good," said Linka.

Joey slammed his hand into his fist. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go and shut him down already."

Gi shook her head. Joey was always the type to rush in without bothering to think. "I'm afraid it's not that simple Wheeler. I just did some checking on-line. From what I could find it seems this tournament is a hundred percent legit. Plunder hasn't broken any laws, and until he does I'm afraid there's nothing we can do."

"Just who is this Plunder guy anyway?" asked Tea, voicing the question that was on the mind of those who were not Planeteers. She understood that whoever this Plunder guy was he was obviously a bad person from the way the others were all talking about him.

"Looten Plunder is a very evil man," said Kwame. "He is a cold hearted and greedy businessman who will do anything to get what he wants, and what he wants is money. All he cares about is making a profit, regardless of who or what is sacrificed in the process."

"Think Kaiba if he was as obsessed with money as he is with duel monsters," said Joey.

The others looked at each other in worry. Their minds instantly flashed back to when they meet Seto's father Gozabero Kaiba, and the unspeakable things he had done in the name of profit. If this Looton Plunder was anything like Gozabero then they could easily understand why the Joey and the rest of the Planeteers were so worried.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Serenity.

"I think it is obvious." said Linka. "We must find out what it is Plunder is planning and put a stop to it."

Joey singed. "So much for a relaxing vacation. Guess this mean I'll have to drop out of the tournament."

"No," said Linka, in her commanding voice that she reserved for making important team decision.

Wheeler raised an eyebrow at his friend and secret crush. "No?" It wasn't like Linka to be against

Linka nodded. "I think that you should stay this tournament. Plunder obviously does not know you or the rest of us are here. Or else he would not have allowed you to enter in the first place."

Gi nodded, quickly catching onto what her friend was hinting at. "Linka's right. This is the perfect opportunity for us to find out what Plunder is up to. While Wheeler's dueling the rest of us can look for clues to try and find out what Plunder is planning."

Kwame looked over at Joey. "Wheeler it is important that you get as far in the tournament as possible. The longer you last the more time we will have to discover what it is Plunder is up to."

Joey nodded. Though he wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of people counting on him to win a duel. It tended to drudge up bad memories of his past, like Pegasus, Marik, and Dartz. Still it might actually be a good thing. Whenever there was something other than prize money riding on the outcome of duel Joey tended to fight harder, and pull off incredible victories he normally couldn't.

"And we'll help too," said Yugi interring into the conversation. "Right guys?" Tristan, Tea, and ever Serenity all nodded.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "Are you guys sure. Things could get dangerous." While he was glad that his friends were so eager to help he did want to put them in danger, especially not Serenity.

Yugi nodded. "Of course Joey, after all the times you've helped us, it's the least we can do."

Joey smiled, feeling the familiar confidence of having his friends at his side well up inside him. "All right. With all of us working together we'll take Plunder down once and for all."

---------

Elsewhere in an unknown part of building Looten Plunder was walking one of the many halls. At his side was his body guard Argos Bleak, a large muscular bald man with a black moustache.

They reached the end of the hall where they took the elevator down to the basement. The two headed two a secluded wall near the back of the room. Argus looked around before nodding to his boss. Looton pulled on a light attached to the wall, and suddenly the wall next to it slide to the side, revealing a hidden stone staircase. "Stay here and make sure no one comes by," he said.

Argus nodded, and Looton descended the stairs as the wall closed behind him. He fallowed the stone path downward, deep below the surface of the earth. When he reached the end he was in a corridor reminiscent of that of an ancient tomb illuminated by the faint fiery glow of torches. He took hold of one of the nearby touches that lit the corridor before making his way through the catacombs. Anyone who did not already know where they were going would surely become lost among the many winding and twisting paths. After twenty minutes of walking Plunder reached a corridor that looked like all the rest, but at the end of this one was a bright turquoise light, which served to illuminate the rest of the corridor.

Plunder walked to the end of the corridor where a large glowing turquoise rock sat. Plunder approached the stone and kneeled before it. "Everything is going according to plain. The duelists have all gathered, and the duels will start tomorrow."

The large stone began to pulse as a deep voice rank out inside Plunders head. _"Excellent. Soon I will have the power I need to free myself from this prison. Then I will cleanse this world and remake it as it should be."_

**---------**

**Another chapter done. Hope you liked it.**

**The next chapter will have the first rounds of the tournament. As far as the duelists for the tournament go, I'm pretty open. I have a few specific matches planned for later, but if there is anyone you would like to see duel in the tournament besides Joey, Yugi, Kabia, or Mai, even if it's only for one round, please let me know and I'll be happy to put them in.**

**Until then remember to be kind. Read and Review**


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